Interestingly, a colleague friend of mine pursuing doctoral work at TCU sent this link to me. What are the implications of this activity/social experiment?

Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zones

Tomas Munita for The New York Times
An Afghan boy at a medical clinic set up by American Army medics and an anthropologist in the Shabak Valley in Afghanistan.

By DAVID ROHDE

Published: October 5, 2007

SHABAK VALLEY, Afghanistan — In this isolated Taliban stronghold in eastern Afghanistan, American paratroopers are fielding what they consider a crucial new weapon in counterinsurgency operations here: a soft-spoken civilian anthropologist named Tracy.

Tracy, who asked that her surname not be used for security reasons, is a member of the first Human Terrain Team, an experimental Pentagon program that assigns anthropologists and other social scientists to American combat units in Afghanistan and Iraq. Her team’s ability to understand subtle points of tribal relations — in one case spotting a land dispute that allowed the Taliban to bully parts of a major tribe — has won the praise of officers who say they are seeing concrete results.

Col. Martin Schweitzer, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division unit working with the anthropologists here, said that the unit’s combat operations had been reduced by 60 percent since the scientists arrived in February, and that the soldiers were now able to focus more on improving security, health care and education for the population.

“We’re looking at this from a human perspective, from a social scientist’s perspective,” he said. “We’re not focused on the enemy. We’re focused on bringing governance down to the people.”

Tomas Munita for The New York Times
At an earlier meeting, rival tribes discussed a land dispute.

In September, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates authorized a $40 million expansion of the program, which will assign teams of anthropologists and social scientists to each of the 26 American combat brigades in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since early September, five new teams have been deployed in the Baghdad area, bringing the total to six.

Yet criticism is emerging in academia. Citing the past misuse of social sciences in counterinsurgency campaigns, including in Vietnam and Latin America, some denounce the program as “mercenary anthropology” that exploits social science for political gain. Opponents fear that, whatever their intention, the scholars who work with the military could inadvertently cause all anthropologists to be viewed as intelligence gatherers for the American military.

Hugh Gusterson, an anthropology professor at George Mason University, and 10 other anthropologists are circulating an online pledge calling for anthropologists to boycott the teams, particularly in Iraq. Read the rest of this entry »

Please find a Call for Papers…
Call for papers for book:

Sexing Travel: Intimacy and Subjectivity in Women’s International Tourism

Edited by Susan Frohlick and Jessica Jacobs

Abstracts accepted until January 15, 2008
Full chapters due by July 1, 2008
2009 publication target date

We are seeking ethnographically informed papers that focus on the multiple dimensions of women’s participation in sexual and intimate relationships with local men or women in international tourist destinations, to be included in an edited volume on transnational/cultural intimacy and sexual subjectivity in women’s travel. We are currently looking into various channels for publication, and are aiming for eight contributors.

Scholarship on ‘ethno-sexual relations’ (Nagel, 2003) between tourists and locals is growing and reflects, in our view, the expansion of sex tourism in late capitalism from a predominantly masculine terrain (tied into ideas around the modern subject) and historical practice to a global phenomenon that includes the gendered consumption practices of First World women shaped by some women’s increasing economic power and mobility. Most work to date draws almost exclusively upon a political-economic framework that refers to “female sex tourists” or “romance tourists”, whose parameters are defined by women’s similarity (or difference) to male sex tourists. As well as sustaining the male subject at the center of the conceptualization of female sex tourism, we feel these approaches ignore the complex sensorial and emotional dimensions of women’s inter-racial, transcultural sexual and intimate relationships with local people in largely Southern and Third World countries. They also miss the opportunity to comment on the role these encounters play in new subject formations and transnational relationships.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favorite professors while studying at Logsdon. I’m grateful to Dan for teaching me the philosophical and theological traditions!  I deepened my interest to the craft of theology and he sent me off to Chicago in order that I might perfect my craft of theology. 

Though deeply in love with all things critical, I find myself falling into story…most often the stories of Jesus and all things Latin America and Political, but now its mostly creative nonfiction!  Thanks for the philosophical underpining and theological talks, Dan!  My mind continues to be spured onto goodness and is continually rooted in all things virtuous!

Cook-Derrick Professor Dr. Dan Stiver, professor of theology, will have the designation of Cook-Derrick Professor. Dr. Stiver, who began teaching in the Logsdon School of Theology in 1998, taught Logsdon’s first online course, Eschatology, in the fall of 2006. He continues to teach a distance-learning class involving HSU students and Logsdon students in Corpus Christi.

Studies in Women and Gender at the University of Virginia invites applications for a tenure-track appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor to begin August 25, 2008. Responsibilities include teaching half-time in Studies in Women and Gender, and half-time in the department of appointment. Disciplinary specialization is open. Candidates must have demonstrated expertise in women and gender studies, with a focus on contemporary African-American women. We seek candidates whose research and teaching examine intersections of gender with race and ethnicity, class, sexuality and/or other forms of identity. Areas of special interest include women’s health and the environment; science and technology; gendered literary and visual representations; and/or media and popular culture.

We encourage applications from women and minorities and from candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the University community through their research, teaching, and service. Ph.D. in hand by time of appointment. Review of applications will begin November 15, 2007. The position will remain open until filled. Candidates should submit a letter of application describing qualifications; CV; statement of  teaching philosophy; and one sample of written work. Please apply online at:

jobs.virginia.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=52741 .

Please send a copy of academic transcripts and arrange to have three letters of recommendation mailed to: Chair, Search Committee, Studies in Women and Gender, University of Virginia, Minor Hall 227, Box 400172, Charlottesville VA 22904-4172.

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. For further information, please contact: Chair, Search Committee, Studies in Women and Gender, at the address listed above, (434)982-2961, or swaguva@virginia.edu.

The University of Chicago Department of Anthropology seeks to add to its faculty in sociocultural and linguistic anthropology during the next two-year period, preferably at the Assistant Professor or Associate Professor rank. Area of specialization is less important a consideration than theoretical innovation emerging from rigorous analysis of empirical material. To apply, please send a current curriculum vitae (including the names and contact information for at least four referees); a one page précis of your dissertation or most recent published monograph; and a detailed letter that describes your research, publication, and professional profile; your research and publication plans for the next 3-5 year period; and your plans for teaching at both graduate and undergraduate levels. To ensure full consideration, these preliminary application materials must be received by October 15, 2007.

Review of applications will continue until positions are filled. Materials should be sent to: Chair, Committee on Faculty Recruitment, Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, 1126 East 59th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637-1580, U.S.A. The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.

new books on the list…So, I was given 5 new books and so I’m on my way to deepening my ethnography shelf! Thanks, Drs. Moodie and Bunzl!